President Arroyo promised in her 2004 inaugural address that by 2010, “everyone of

school age will be in school in an uncrowded classroom, in surroundings conducive to

learning… at may computer sa bawat (pa)aralan.”

• This promise was further threshed out in the Arroyo administration’s Medium-Term Philippine
Development Plan (MTPDP) for 2004-2010.
• The MTPDP is built upon the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the country’s international
commitment to reduce poverty.
• Achieving universal primary education by 2015 is one of the MDGs.

In 2007, the Philippines Midterm Progress Report on the MDGs noted that there is
“low probability” that the Philippines will achieve its goal on primary education
by the set deadline.

• MDG performance indicators measure access to primary education – whether children who should be
in school are actually in school (i.e. elementary participation rate, cohort survival rate, primary
completion rate and literacy rate of individuals 15-24 years old).

• MDG performance indicators for primary education showed a declining trend from 2000 to 2006.

• While updated statistics for 2007-2009 show slight improvement in the MDG performance indicators
from 2006 data, the general assessment remains: there is a “low probability” for the Philippines to
fully attain universal primary education by 2015.

Participation rate

o Target: 93.0% participation rate in SY 2010-2011; all primary school-age children should be
enrolled in primary school by 2015

o Status:

85.12% participation rate as of SY 2008-2009 (85 out 100 primary school-age children
were actually in primary school)

this is worse than the participation rate in SY 2000-2001 (96.77%)

target is not likely to be attained by 2015

Cohort survival rate

o Target: 78.0% cohort survival rate at the elementary level in SY 2010-2011; all Grade 1 pupils in
the same batch will make it to the Grade 6 level by 2015

o Status:

75.39% cohort survival rate as of SY 2008-2009 (75 pupils out of a cohort of 100 Grade 1
pupils reached the Grade 6 level)

an improvement from the cohort survival rate in SY 2000-2001 (69.46%)
o target for SY 2010-2011 is likely to be attained, but it remains to be seen whether it can
meet its 2015 target

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 Education… (cont’d)

Primary completion rate

o Target: all Grade 1 pupils in the same batch will finish schooling up to the Grade 6 level by
2015

o Status:

73.28% primary completion rate as of SY 2008-2009 (73 pupils out of a cohort of 100
Grade 1 pupils finished Grade 6)

this is a slight improvement from the completion rate in SY 2000-2001 (68.68%), but
it is still off-target

Literacy rate of 15-24 years old

o Target: 100% literacy rate among 15- to 24-year olds by 2015 (simple literacy = ability to read
and write; functional literacy = ability to read, write and compute)

o Status:

latest available literacy rate data for comparison are for years 1994 and 2003

the simple literacy rate for this age group was worse in 2003 compared to the 1994
rate

the functional literacy rate for this age group was better in 2003 compared to than
1994 rate, but it is still off-target

Efforts to keep kids in school

The Arroyo administration implemented conditional programs in an effort to keep kids in school.

o Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program: cash grants to poorest of the poor households; P3,000
for one school year or P300/month per child for educational expenses, maximum of 3
children per household, but with certain conditions like children must enroll in school and
attend classes at least 85% of the time

o Food for school program: started in 2004; daily ration of 1kg rice for poor pre-school and
Grade 1 pupils for 120 school days

An assessment of other MTPDP indicators shows both gains and setbacks in

President Arroyo’s education promises.

• Aside from the MDG performance indicators, MTPDP also measures progress in basic education in
terms of classrooms, teachers, textbooks and computers.

• Gains include surpassing the target number of classrooms to be built per school year; classroom-
pupil ratio in the elementary level; teacher-pupil/student ratio; textbook-pupil/student ratio in some
subjects; and the provision of computers in high schools.

• Misses include classroom-student ratio in the high school level, and textbook-pupil/student ratio in
some subjects in both the elementary and high school level.

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Education… (cont’d)

Classrooms

o Target: build 6,000 classrooms every school year and maintain classroom-pupil/student ratio
at an average of 1:50

o Status:

target number of classrooms built was surpassed every year from 2004-2008

DepEd has achieved the target classroom-pupil ratio (elementary level) since 2004-
2005; classroom-pupil ratio improved in 2008 from 1:50 to 1:45 at double-shifting

DepEd remains off-target in terms of classroom-student ratio (secondary level)

classroom shortage still exists in some areas; many schools implement multi-shifting,
meaning two or more sets of pupils/students use a classroom

DepEd acknowledges that classroom shortage is a perennial problem due to the
continuing increase in student population and destruction brought about by natural
and man-made calamities

Teachers

o Target: maintain a 1:50 teacher-pupil/student ratio

o Status:

target maintained for both elementary and secondary levels since SY 2004-2005

ratio may be higher in some remote areas due to high population density and
teachers’ preference to be stationed in urban centers and safer places

Textbooks

o Target: maintain a 1:1 textbook-pupil/student ratio in public elementary and secondary

schools

o Status: (as of SY 2009-2010)

1:1 ratio for both elementary and secondary levels in English and Makabayan
textbooks

Science – 1:2 for elementary, 1:1 for secondary

Mathematics – 1:3 for both levels

Filipino – 1:2 for elementary, 1:3 for secondary

Computers

o Target: All public high schools shall have computers by 2010

o Status: In its 2009 Report Card, DepEd claims that all public high schools have been
provided with a computer package. Only about a third have internet access

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Education… (cont’d)

Education budget and expenditures

• Education expenditures' share to GDP during the Arroyo administration is only at 2-3%; this is
below the international standard set by UNESCO, which is 6% of GDP.

• DepEd got P158.2 billion in new appropriations as per GAA 2009. Eighty percent of this amount
(P126.6 billion) is set aside for salaries.

• Education expenditures account for half of the government's expenditures on social services.

• Although education spending has seen an increase in nominal value over the years, its share to
total expenditures for social services has shown a declining trend in recent years as the Arroyo
administration increased spending in social security, welfare and employment.

• The government spends more on debt servicing than it does on education.

o The DepEd budget is the second biggest item in the national budget, next to debt service
(P252.55 billion in 2009)– this, despite a Constitutional provision stating that education
must be given the highest budgetary priority.
o Education expenditures account for 13-16% of total government expenditures; debt
servicing accounts for 21-31%.

Other gains in education under the Arroyo administration

• The Governance of Basic Education Act (RA 9155)
o signed into law in August 2001
o DECS became DepEd; cultural agencies and functions related to school sports
competitions were removed from DepEd
o supports decentralization, school-based management
o empowers stakeholders at the local level to initiate and implement innovations towards
improved delivery of basic education

• increase in teachers’ pay

o From P9,000++ in 2000 (Estrada administration) and 2001 (early part of Arroyo
administration), the minimum salary of teachers increased to at least P12,026 in July
2008.

• Brigada Eskwela
o started in 2002; volunteer activity mobilizing the community to repair classrooms and
school furniture, clean campus grounds, etc. a week prior to the opening of every school
year (UNICEF)

• integration of the Madrasah Education (Arabic school) into the basic education system
o DepEd formulated a standard curriculum for public schools and private madaris
(madrasah schools) in Muslim communities in 2004; a 2004 DepEd order mandated its
implementation